Mother to Mother #19

Mother to mother # 19 Mavis MacDowell Articles in the Las Vegas Review Journal March 2015 and Scientific American Mind April 2015 were about how music heals the brain. How music’s power lifts our moods and builds connections. I actually bought a little organ a couple years ago. A friend who had a brain tumor removed had learned to play the organ and it had restored a lot of her function. Her husband died and her playing of the Organ also gave her emotional support. New therapies are using rhythm, melody and beat to help people with brain disorders recover speech, language, hearing, motion, and emotion. Wow! Talk about a positive effect, just from learning music. The treatment is called Melodic intonation therapy. When used intently over months it produces long term gains that appeared to arise from changes in neural circuitry, the creation of alternate pathways in the brain. This article was so interesting. You may be able to look it up online, on buy the March/April Scientific American Mind. Music is effective in treating neurological impairment by recruiting other undamaged regions of the brain. Music promotes recovery in speech, verbal memory, attention and motor function. Seven ways music works to repair function is through physical movement, emotional responses can produce chemicals that change mood and speed rehabilitation. Music is engaging, synchronization improves timing and coordination. Social aspects bring about coping skills. The joy of music can persuade patients to continue in their therapy. The personal aspects of music can promote memories, certainly helpful with Alzheimer’s disease. Try music therapy anyway you can with your loved one.

Mother to Mother #18

Mother to Mother # 18 Mavis MacDowell It’s been a while since I have written a mother to mother blog. The loss of my white Doberman left me very depressed. A lot has been happening including two surgeries to repair my sons hip and back. My favorite subject is neurogenesis. Since my son and I are a long way out from our last brain injuries we have been practicing the theories of neurogenesis. I can say we have had a lot of success. One theory that using your non-dominant hand will increase brain cells seems to be valid. Because of injuries to the left side of my head and my right hand I was unable to write legibly. Being a special education teacher I was required to fill in lengthy forms and write reports. I went to a neurologist and he said I would never be able to write legibly with my left hand starting at age 30. He was right, but using my non-dominant hand and both hands together every way I could improve functionality on my left side which would necessitate an increase in neurons on the right side of my brain. I quoted some articles about this in earlier blogs. Now I think I look like a cool European when I eat. It’s actually much easier to use your left hand. My handwriting has actually improved, but it’s different than pre-injury.

Veterans Art Center Calendar

July is filled with art events at the Veterans Art Center and Beyond

July and August exhibition of 25 veteran artists at Mesa County Main Library

July, August and September exhibit of 27 Veteran Artists at Grand Junction City Hall. Opening Reception July 10, 5:30 pm


July 1 thru July 28 solo exhibition "Life on Canvas" by Veteran Artist Bob Maurer

July 3, First Friday Art Walk with Featured Artist Bob Maurer, Downtown Grand Junction at the Shade Tree, 618 Main Street, 5 to 8 pm.

July 3rd thru 17th - Watercolor and Drawing Classes with Bob Maurer
3 day and 5 day workshops - 3 hours per day, mornings, afternoons or evenings.

Born in Brooklyn, NY, Bob received formal art training at Cooper Union and the School of Visual Arts in New York.  While there, he met the love of his life, a fashion illustrator, and married her 3 1/2 weeks later.  In 1959, Bob and Lydia moved to Denver, Colorado to start a family that would eventually include 4 children. While in Denver, Bob worked as art director for ABC TV.  He later opened Studio 10, a graphic design company that counted Pepsi among its clients. Avid campers, they decided to move to the foothills of Boulder, where Bob became a graphics designer for the National Center of Atmospheric Research. 

In 1972 the call of the mountains grew stronger, and Bob and Lydia moved to Lake City, a small town high in the San Juan Range.  For the first time Bob and Lydia worked together daily as fine artists.  They bought a 100 year old cabin and hand built an art gallery that also housed their studio and print shop.  After many years in this rustic mountain town, Bob and Lydia moved to Grand Junction to open an art school and Gallery.  In 1985, after the oil shale industry and the city's economy collapsed, they moved to The Old Chicken Farm Art Center in San Angelo, Texas.  Here Bob and Lydia continued to develop their craft painting and teaching classes at the art center and on the local public television station. 

In 1986, Bob took the plunge into computer design with the purchase of his first computer, an Apple Mac Plus.  Although they enjoyed a great deal of success in San Angelo, Bob and Lydia missed the mountains.  In 1990, they moved back to Colorado and settled in Gunnison where they opened a studio and small gallery.  They also joined the Paragon Gallery in Crested Butte, a 14 member cooperative where artists exhibit their artwork and give back to the community by donating their time and portion of their profit.

In 2007, Bob's life as a husband and artists took another unexpected turn when he said goodbye to his wife, partner and creative muse after 49 years of marriage.  Lydia had only recently been diagnosed and treated for cancer.  Her memory and life continue to inspire and inform his work.  During his long career, Bob has been prolific in both quality and quantity of his work.  He has completed more than 1200 oil and watercolor paintings, many of which have placed first in art shows and competitions. 

His work has been shown in the Denver Art Museum, the Smithsonian, and in private and corporate collections throughout the United States and abroad.  In 2006, Bob's watercolor "Wildflower Medley" was selected as the official poster design for the annual Crested Butte Wildflower Festival.  In 2011, Bob with the aid of Ivy McNulty was instrumental in starting the local co-op 'Gallery 126' on Main Street, Gunnison.

Around the Studio

A short video of some of our activities at the Veterans Art Center